Crumpler New Delhi 770 Review

I first got started into photography several years ago when Canon came out with their then first sub £1000 Digital SLR. In addition to the ever pressing question of whether to buy the 300D or Nikon’s D70, I also had another dilemma, which bag to buy. After around 3 weeks of going back and forth between Nikon and Canon, I finally settled on the Canon kit, and to be honest I thought that buying a bag would be a much simpler process simply because of the wide variety of choices available.

Boy was I wrong, I mean there were bags out there but they were all so boring. No doubt that bags like Lowepro were very well made and served the purpose of protecting the camera gear very well, but I was looking for something more. I wanted a bag which would go well with my ‘cool’ new camera gear consisting of the latest 300D and the stock Canon EFs18-55mm lens. To be honest I didn’t really find anything which suited my needs so I settled on a decent Lowepro backpack (£49 from Jessops UK).

The Lowepro bag served me well for several years, but in the back of my mind I really wanted something which could go with my new toys (EOS 5D, 1D Mark2, 17/40L and 70/200L), something that was sturdy and cool at the same time and didn’t scream from a mile away that I am carrying camera gear. To be honest I didn’t find anything that really met my needs or wanted me to part with my hard earned cash, till, I laid my eyes on the Crumpler New Delhi 770.

Crumpler ND770

First Impressions

The bag being reviewed was provided by Crumpler UK. The bag came along with some other goodies. Some Crumpler branded postcards, matches and a product catalogue.

Normally I have never been excited about something like a bag, I leave those things to my wife. However this bag was something else. It came with a promise to meet all of my camera gear and accessories storage needs while looking good at the same time. When I first looked at the bag, I went, WOW it is big. I took it out of it’s packing and felt the material and the carrying strap. It felt strong, but I wasn’t going to let it get away this easily, I was going to stress test it later on.

So my first impression of the bag was that it was big, felt strong, looked really good, didn’t give off a traditional look and if you are someone who thinks of themselves as trendy you would really like this bag.

Insides

The first thing you notice upon opening the bag is the small camera carrying compartment inside the bag. The little grey thing sitting in front of the bag in the picture above. The compartment as seen from the picture above can be easily taken out. This is the main compartment used for storing camera gear. It is thickly padded and the whole top can be opened with a sturdy zip with the Crumpler logo on it. Because the whole of the top zips open, making it very easy to store and access anything placed inside. Plus since the small compartment comes with a handle of it’s own it can be easily used to carry around without fear of accidentally dropping it.

The compartment inside is divided into small sections. These sections can be made big or small as per your needs as the dividers use velcro hence it is a simple matter of re-defining the space to meet your needs.

The compartment may not seem wide enough, however it is certainly deep enough to store away or ‘eat away’ most of your photographic equipment.

Along with the compartment there is also a small pouch, there doesn’t seem to be a specific purpose to it however it can be used to keep a small digital camera or perhaps a flashgun or maybe an assortment of memory cards and extra batteries and stuff.

Once you take the inside compartments out the bag turns into a normal laptop bag with plenty of storage for clothes, books, papers and other stuff that you may need to take on your trip.

At the back of the bag is the 17″ laptop compartment. Even though it is advertised as a 17″ compatible bag, my 15″ wide screen was a snug fit, where I think that a 17″ could fit in it, the space could have been made just a little bit bigger (wider). The laptop storage area has it’s own strap making sure that the laptop does not slip away under any unforeseen circumstances.

Outside

On the outside the bag has two front pockets, one with a zip and one with velcro on it. However the most notable thing on the outside is the very sturdy and strong shoulder strap. As you will see in the stress test below that the bag would never have survived a day with if it did not have a good adjustable shoulder strap.

Stress Test

As I said earlier that I wasn’t going to let this bag get away easy. What better way to test the durability of the bag than to fill it to the brim and take it on a week long trip and see how it holds out in the real world. Exactly what I did. I literally filled the bags all of the compartments to the point that I had to really struggle to shut the zips and straps, I wanted to see how much I can squeeze out of the bag and would it really break under pressure, plus with all of this stored in would I really be able to carry this bag in the Airplane with me, at least I was going to try?

Please Note: If you are offended by cruelty to bags, STOP and go to Fluffykittens.com or if you find that that website does not exist then go to http://comparethemeerkat.com. Otherwise continue at your own risk

So here is what I put in:

Canon EOS 5D
Canon EOS 300D
Canon EF 17/40L
Canon EF 24mm
Canon EF 50mm
Canon 580EX Flashgun
Sony Camcorder
Chargers for Camcorder and Cameras
Portable Iomega 3.5″ 250GB external HDD
Cables for the above HDD
Memory Card Readers
Memory Cards
Lenovo 15″ Widescreen Laptop
Charger for the Lenovo Laptop
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Comb
Packets of Kleenex Tissues
Moleskin Notebook
Parker Roller ball Pen
Blackberry Bold Charger
Spare tapes for the camcorder
Body Spray(s)
Headphones
Spare Change
Jessops Lens Cleaning Kit

I put all of the above in and then made an attempt to carry it, … , and then made another attempt to carry it. My shoulder somehow didn’t agree with my notions but I managed. My worry now was that with all of this stuffed in the bag must have seemed very bloated and there would be no way I would be able to carry it on board with me and put it in overhead storage.

Nevertheless, I took a taxi to Glasgow International Airport, I was hoping to get their early as I may be able to somehow convince the airline staff to let me take this onboard. As luck would have it the motorway was under repair, as usual, and I was delayed. No worries though, I managed to make it on board without any problems, the bag even passed the size (height/width) test needed. It easily fit in the overhead compartment of the British Midlands (BMI) flight scheduled for London, and safely made it there without any hiccups.

I spent a week in London, where this bag accompanied me in my travels and on my way back I repeated the above experiment just to double check my results, i.e. I can fill it to the brim, it won’t break and I would still be able to carry it on board. I am pleased to announced that I reached back in Glasgow without any problems at all, no questions asked what so ever. The Heathrow staff seemed more concerned about the contents of my 1 year old’s milk bottle which my wife had to drink to show that it was fit for human consumption.

In my week long practical test of the bag I was really impressed by the quality of the sturdy strap and the material of the bag, despite having been knocked around the equipment inside was safe and free from any scratches thanks to the modifiable compartments and the bag itself didn’t seem dirty at all despite being out quite a few times, really says a lot about the material of the bag.

What others said about the bag

You would think that after the above stress test I would let the bag go, perhaps let it rest a little bit. No, not me sir. I had sent out a message on my twitter account asking for volunteers who would want to keep the bag for a week and test it and let me know what they think about it.

I got contacted by several photographers who wanted a go at the bag. So the Crumpler New Delhi 770 was sent out to people in Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow and EastKilbride (Glasgow). They ranged from Landscape to Wedding Photographers, from weekend shooters to people who made their living in UK media industry. They all kept the bag for some time, used it in their daily routine and dropped me an email stating their thoughts on the bag. What follows is a list of the most notable points mentioned by these people.

Everyone liked how the bag looked trendy and cheerful compared to other usual camera bags
The extra storage space inside the bag was very much liked by everyone especially the landscape photographers
Someone who normally uses Lowepro and shoots weddings commented that the bag would really look good in a colourful environment such as weddings where everyone is wearing bright dresses. The Crumpler bag could be a welcome addition to his gear especially when compared to the black Lowepro
The casual shooter thought that the bag was a bit too big for him for daily use however the fact that the bag could store enough clothes for a weekend trip, a camera and a lens and a 17″ laptop would make it an ideal companion for a weekend getaway
One bad point noted was that there was no easy access to camera equipment without fully opening the front flap.
PRICE!!

Conclusion and Verdict

After keeping the bag for sometime, having used it myself and after getting feedback from people who used this bag I feel that it is a very sturdy and strong bag. For people like me who always keep almost all of their equipment in their bags. even at home, and take it with them this is ideal. It is also great because it looks good to carry and doesn’t advertise that I am a camera bag. However some may find it too big to carry around every day and might prefer another bag to supplement this bag. Something which they can use to carry on their photo walks or on when they are going somewhere where they don’t need to carry all of the extra gear. I asked Crumpler UK if they had a bag which could complement New Delhi, perhaps could store a laptop, one DLSR and a lens or two, unfortunately they didn’t have any such bag at the moment, so you will have to look elsewhere. Crumpler UK sell this bag themselves for £200+ however it is easily available from other retailers for far less. It is a shame that in the times of credit crunch the manufacturer prices are not competitive at all, however as the link above shows that there are retailers selling bag for less elsewhere.

Pros

Massive Storage Space
Great Looks
Sturdy and Strong
Very well thought out inside layout
Storage Space Customisable
Made of strong material
Multiple use bag
Size big enough to store lots of stuff and still small enough to carry around

Cons

Manufacturer Price (Glad there are others at lower prices)
Big Size without any complementing bag available – Crumpler really needs to have a complementing walk around shoulder bag
No easy access to equipment without opening the whole bag, should have a zip on the top flap allowing easy access to the camera section

Disclaimer

The bag was provided by Crumpler UK for the review. The opinions expressed above are entirely my own and were in no way influenced by Crumpler. Before starting the review I had made it perfectly clear that things which I didn’t like would be highlighted in the review as I have a commitment to the readers of Colours Magazine to provide a honest and un-biased opinion, an opinion which can help them make an informed decision. Good or bad it was all my opinion and opinion of those photographers who helped me do the review.

Some Afterthoughts

Just to let you know that Crumpler also have an all leather version of this bag called ‘Master Delhi’. I have not tested the bag in rain, it seems rain-proof, however if it is really important to you let me know and I shall be happy to take it out in the rain, if it doesn’t rain soon enough I can also put my one year old’s rubber duck inside the bag and dip it in a bath tub full of water. If the rubber duck floats, then the bag is not water proof. Hey, in the name of equipment review I am allowed to be a little eccentric.

If I have missed anything else, or if there are any specific questions then also let me know I shall try and get them answered for you. Please do let me know if you liked the review or simply hated it and if you would like me to review anything else for you.